Final Two Events Held in Saitama and Takamatsu City Author: Daisuke Ishizuka Official Site: m-78.jp/45th/art, momas.jp (Japan)

ULTRAMAN ART! TIMES AND CREATION — ULTRAMAN & ULTRA SEVEN (???????????????????????????????) is a museum exhibition devoted to the two Ultra series, ULTRAMAN and ULTRA SEVEN. ULTRAMAN ART! started in 2010 in Hokkaido and the exhibition has been held at various museums in Japan ever since. Finally, ULTRAMAN ART! has come to The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama near Tokyo. The exhibition (which runs July 7th-September 2nd in Saitama) is very unique. The Museum of Modern Art had prepared a special photography area for visitors. Ultraman himself welcomes guests to the first block of exhibits, which focuses on his 1966 series. Among the displays are Alien Baltan, the subterranean monster Magula and the Science Patrol`s iconic Jet-Beetle aircraft. While not the original suits or props, they are cool and beautiful works of art. They were also of very high quality rather than the cheaper-looking exhibition suits often used for live shows and events. The second block is the ULTRA SEVEN zone where visitors could take photos of Ultra Seven, Alien Vira, Alien Metron and the Ultra Guard`s jet fighters Ultra Hawk I and Ultra Hawk III. There is also a special photo spot in this zone where a famous shot from ULTRA SEVEN had been prepared. The set recreated a key scene from Episode 8: THE CURSED TOWN, in which Dan Moroboshi meets Alien Metron in an apartment room. Museum visitors can pose for a photo op; playing the role of Dan Moroboshi as he comes face-to-face with the alien invader. The third block is the Museum Zone where rare and valuable items are displayed; original props, screenplays, part of original monster suits, etc. The most valuable items in my opinion were the design works by Mr. Toru "Tohl" Norita, Mr. Noriyoshi Ikeya and Mr. Ryosaku Takayama. Mr. Narita and Mr. Ikeya were the art directors of Ultra series and Tsuburaya Productions` other tokusatsu TV series. Their monster design works were real artistic masterworks. Mr. Takayama was a monster suit creator, and the designs he used in making the costumes are displayed in this area. ULTRAMAN ART! started in September 2010 at the Asahikawa Museum of Art in Hokkaido and the exhibition will be held at total of eight museums. After finishing its run at The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama it will have a final appearance at the Takamatsu City Museum of Art from September 15th to October 28th, 2012. ULTRAMAN ART! TIMES AND CREATION — ULTRAMAN & ULTRA SEVEN has been a big success. I truly thank all the curators of museums who planned such great and unique exhibition.